Even when there’s a lockout, it seems like injury news is an unavoidable part of the Edmonton Oilers experience. This holds true even for the players not playing elsewhere. As the Edmonton Journal’s Joanne Ireland reports, veterans Andy Sutton and Nikolai Khabibulin are both currently on the injured list, and the news isn’t good.

Sutton: “I may have played my last game “

Sutton, who talks in the piece about how he had planned to retire last year but stuck with it because he enjoyed himself so much in Edmonton, had surgery a little over three weeks ago to correct a knee problem that came up over the summer. Now he’s looking at a second surgery, and Ireland quotes him as displaying something other than confidence:

I was going to retire after last season. I’d had a good long career, especially for a guy who was never drafted, but I enjoyed myself so much in Edmonton I decided to sign on for another year. I am usually a pretty quick healer, but I have a pretty long road ahead. I had trained so hard and was in such good shape. But this is another thing I have to deal with. I may have played my last game last year and not even known it. This injury has really beat me up. I had trained so hard and was in such good shape, probably the best shape of my life. I had never felt better. You think of your farewell and how you’re going to do it ... and now all that has changed for me.

It will be unfortunate if this latest injury, as seems likely, forces Sutton into retirement. The Oilers had the option to move Sutton at the trade deadline last year, but chose not to – not only was Sutton playing quite well, but reportedly the Oilers also highly valued his off-ice presence on the young team.

As I understand it, because Sutton signed just a one-year deal, the Oilers don’t need to worry about his cap hit sticking if he’s unable to play when NHL hockey resumes. A side effect of a serious injury would be to create space on the Oilers’ crowded back end, and buy some time for both Corey Potter and Theo Peckham to show that they have an Oilers future.

Will he retire? The Oilers would be in decent shape if he did – Yann Danis should be able to provide comparable (if not superior) goaltending, while Tyler Bunz and Olivier Roy would seem to be a serviceable AHL tandem. The Oilers, with a pair of good prospects between the pipes and the lessons of years past fresh in mind, seem to have learned that depth between the pipes is something well worth cultivating.

But there’s no reason to expect retirement from Khabibulin based on the description of his injury. More likely, he’ll just provide more of what has been the norm the last few years: lots of time missed, and below-average performances when he does play.

Elsewhere...

Meanwhile, among those guys currently playing, AHL forward Josh Green is on the shelf with a rib injury and is currently probably best described as week-to-week. More concerning for Oilers fans will be the fact that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins left last night's game early in the second period after taking a stick to the face and did not return. From the sounds of it, he may not play Sunday, but so far it's only been reported as a dental injury, which is painful and unfortunate for him but shouldn't have any lasting ramifications to his health as a hockey player

Jonathan Willis is a freelance writer.
He currently works for Oilers Nation, Sportsnet and Bleacher Report.
He's co-written three books and worked for myriad websites, including the Edmonton Journal, Grantland, ESPN, The Score, and Hockey Prospectus. He was previously the founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue.

Very sad news about Sutton. Guy is an honest player who apparently was good in the room. He brought some of the "edge" that has been missing for years. If he is done we are that much easier to play against. Maybe Theo will switch back to #49 and bring back Teddy.

Yann Danis has played four games. Against that, we have five consecutive seasons of superb play.

It boggles my mind that you can seriously suggest that we should be worried about Danis because of four games - particularly given the number of power play opportunities and weird deflections in those games.

If the Oilers would have drafted Murray, I have a feeling they wouldn't have even got the best dman. I think the better dman will end up being Morgan Reilly. The Oilers got really, really lucking in the draft lottery imo.

I agree that drafting Moroz over Finn is a tough decision to understand. Even Collberg or Aberg over Finn would have easier to follow, but I thought for sure they were going to grab a defender with that pick.

Sutton, along with goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and winger Taylor Hall, were all injured when the NHL locked its doors last month. As a consequence, they are all under the care of the Oilers and they’re getting paid.

Sutton, along with goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and winger Taylor Hall, were all injured when the NHL locked its doors last month. As a consequence, they are all under the care of the Oilers and they’re getting paid.

I love that ST has to pay Khabby during the lockout, he should never be allowed to forget that beauty of a signing.